Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has taken full responsibility for the spying incident which overshadowed tonight’s Championship match against Derby County.
Derby released a statement today revealing that a man “acting suspiciously” on the perimeter of their training ground – forcing Frank Lampard to halt training – was “an employee of footballing staff at Leeds United Football Club”.
Speaking to Sky Sports before the game, Bielsa said:
“It’s true there was someone from Leeds United. The [person] responsible of this incident is me. I am responsible for it. There is some decision that I need to give. It doesn’t matter if this is illegal or legal or if it is right or wrong.
“For me it’s enough that Frank Lampard and Derby County felt it was not the right thing to do and that I didn’t behave well. Yesterday I talked to Frank Lampard and he told me that I didn’t respect the fair play rules.
“I have a different point of view on it but the important thing is what Frank Lampard and Derby County think.
“I am the only [person] responsible for it because I didn’t ask the club Leeds United permission to do that.
“Without trying to find a justification, I have been using this kind of practice since the qualifications for the World Cup with Argentina. This is not illegal, we have been doing it publicly, we talk about it in the press, for some people it is the wrong thing to do but for other people it is not the wrong thing to do.’
